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Bake up a dessert from your garden

Photograph by: Handout photo
, Edmonton Journal

Eating fresh strawberries right off the runner is the sweetest way to spend a summer afternoon. A slightly tarter, but still delicious, way to while away the hours is to munch on ripe rhubarb stems twisted right off the plant.

Like all fruits and veggies, these classics are better when fresher, and especially when homegrown.

Sumptuous strawberries

Getting the best-tasting strawberries starts with planting. Make sure the soil drains freely and is chopped full of rich organic matter.

If water pools, or if it's dustily depleted, enrich with a generous dose of compost or sea soil.

If you're really keen, check the soil's pH to ensure it's slightly acidic (between six and seven). They love potash and phosphorous, so sprinkle wood ash and bone meal in while planting.

Young plants yield the sweetest fruit, so I suggest re-planting perennial strawberries after three years. Establish a one-third rotation so you're never left hungry.

While strawberries are the sweetest in the full sun, their roots like life cool. Layer two inches of wood mulch on the soil both to slow down evaporation and so ripening fruit doesn't flop into dirt and rot.

Harvesting the best strawberries is an exact science; a couple of hours can make a real difference. When the berry is evenly red (including where it attaches to the stem), the sugars are at their mouth-watering maximum.

Sun sweetens everything, so pick berries in the afternoon heat. The faster you eat them the better, especially if you pick them fully ripe. Pinch or cut (never yank) to pick, leaving a half-inch of stem on the fruit.

Ravishing rhubarb

Admittedly, rhubarb isn't the sexiest edible in the garden, but what it lacks in trendiness it makes up for with dogged reliability and a nostalgically vintage flavour. It's one of the only perennial vegetables and, once established, is so easy to grow that it's just plain hard to kill.

If you're planning to harvest, nip off the flower buds as they form. Blooming turns tart rhubarb into just plain bitter. Try to enjoy it before the end of June.

Don't harvest at all from first-year plants. After that, harvest when stalks are about two centimetres wide, quite firm, and have a dark pink tinge.

Grab the stalk as close the ground as possible and twist it clean off the crown. The pulling motion of the twist encourages roots to keep producing, something that cutting the stem off just doesn't do.

Remove the poisonous leaves and eat the stalks right away for best flavour. Never pull all the stalks off a rhubarb plant; you'll weaken it.

Take it to the kitchen

After the hours you've spent nurturing your tempting edibles to perfection, showcase them with a recipe.

Eric Hanson, executive chef and menu mastermind at Niche Restaurant in Edmonton, weaves together the exquisite tastes of locally grown ingredients like a virtuoso.

Hanson quickly suggests strawberry rhubarb cobbler. It's easy to make and versatile; either whip up a large dish or serve individual ramekins at your next posh party. Cobbler's more fibre-rich cousin - crumble, with its oat topping - is also a great option.

When large numbers of berries mature all at once, Eric suggests making jam so you can enjoy their flavour throughout the winter.

"Be sure to allow the flavours to speak for themselves," stresses Eric. "Don't allow them to get lost in a big dish with lots going on. Keep it simple."

Almost any good cookbook will give you a recipe for fruit crumble. Online, search for Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble or Crisp at atcoblueflamekitchen.com, epicurious. com or allrecipes.com. If you prefer a cobbler, try this one at tasteofhome.com/recipes/ strawberry-rhubarb-cobbler.

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